TCL's FS3700 HDTV line offers solid performance and loads of Roku-driven apps and services for a very low price.

If you're on a tight budget, buying an HDTV requires some form of compromise. It used to be that you had to give up both picture quality and features. You still won't get the best picture without spending an appreciable amount of money, but thanks to Roku TV, you can get a full-featured, affordable big TV for a very low price. Last year's TCL FS4610R series performed well and offered a slew of online services through Roku, earning it our Editors' Choice. It's being replaced by TCL's FS3700 line, of which we tested the 55-inch 55FS3700. Its $598 retail price is a full $80 less than the price of the 55-inch 55FS4610R from last year, and it delivers the same solid performance and offers loads of streaming media thanks to its Roku TV core. It easily earns our Editors' Choice for budget HDTVs.

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DesignThe 55FS3700 showcases TCL's typical understated, functional design aesthetic. The screen is surrounded on all sides by half-inch, flat, glossy black plastic bezels marred only by TCL and Roku logos on the bottom edge, and an indicator light just beneath the TCL logo. The screen stands on a clear-and-black, rectangular glass base that holds it up steady but doesn't let it pivot. This HDTV won't catch anyone's eye, but it doesn't look particularly cheap, either; it blends well into wherever you place it.

Facing right on the back of thr screen you'll find three HDMI ports, along with a USB port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a cable/antenna connector, an optical audio output, and a pinhole Reset button. Beyond those connections, the 55FS3700 also has a composite video input facing straight back, and that's it. A small joystick sits behind the screen on the lower-right corner and serves as a Power button and a simple input device, but it's best treated as a backup, and you'll want to use the included remote whenever possible.

The remote is almost identical to the one included with previous TCL and Hisense Roku TVs we've reviewed, and is very similar to the remote you get with Roku media hubs. It's a curved black wand with a purple direction pad, playback controls, and four dedicated service buttons (Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Rdio, and Vudu) on the front. Volume controls and a Mute button sit on the right side. It's an infrared remote, so it requires line-of-sight with the HDTV and, unlike the radio remote used with the Roku 3, it doesn't have the handy headphone jack for audio streaming. Still, it's very functional and easy to use.

Roku TVLike all Roku TVs, the 55FS3700 uses Roku's interface to provide access to online services and apps through Roku's Channel Store. All of the major media services are available, including Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, SlingTV, and Twitch. There are also hundreds of topic-specific content channels and apps. In addition, you can wirelessly stream media from your smartphone or tablet with the free Roku app for Android and iOS. The app lets you use your mobile device as a remote, as well.

The HDTV's input options show up on the main screen at the top of the channel list, above any Roku content channels you've added. You can rename each input so you don't need to remember which device is connected to HDMI-1 and which is connected to HDMI-3, for instance.

PerformanceWe test HDTVs using a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a DVDO AVLab 4K test pattern generator, and SpectraCal's CalMAN 5 software. After basic calibration, the 55FS3700 displayed a solid 273.35 cd/m2 peak brightness and a disappointing 0.08 black level, for a 3,417:1 contrast ratio. It's unimpressive compared with more expensive screens, but it's standard performance for HDTVs in this price range. The 55FS3700 is a bit brighter than the 55FS4610R while displaying the same black level, so its contrast ratio is just slightly higher than last year's model.

Color accuracy is imperfect, as seen in the chart above. The boxes represent ideal color levels and the dots represent the 55FS3700's color measurements. White ran slightly cool, and green skewed quite warm, though blues and reds were fairly accurate. Unfortunately, the Roku TV system doesn't offer any in-depth color adjustments, so you can't tweak and calibrate the colors to perfection. Even simple adjustments like Brightness and Contrast are found under "Advanced Picture Settings," and you can't adjust color balance beyond three color temperature presets and a Tint setting.

The slightly skewed colors don't impact the image too much. In The Big Lebowski, the purple of The Jesus' outfit and the warm earth tones of the bowling alley looked a bit more vivid than preferable, but reasonably well-balanced despite the slight oversaturation. Skin tones also looked fairly accurate, though The Dude's face seemed a tad red. Fortunately, color saturation is one of the few picture settings you can change on a Roku TV, and turning it down slightly fixed the problem.

The Amazing Spider-Man's dark alley scenes were filled with shadow detail, but the blacks weren't quite as inky as they could be. You can coax the blacks a bit darker by adjusting the contrast level, but it will obliterate any shadow detail. The 55FS3700's budget price should be remembered when considering its picture quality; you can't reasonably expect outstanding contrast on a 55-inch screen that retails for less than $700, and with that in mind the 55FS3700's picture is perfectly serviceable, with fairly accurate colors.

Power and ConclusionsWhile the 55FS3700 is lacking in color accuracy, it's extremely impressive in response time. Input lag, the time between when a screen receives a signal and updates the picture, was just 28.1 milliseconds in our tests. This is remarkable for a 55-inch HDTV, and about twice as fast as other same-size displays we've tested. The screen has a Game mode, but it only shaved the response time down to 27.9 ms in testing.

Under normal viewing conditions, the 55FS3700 consumes 99 watts of power. The HDTV's Eco Save mode cuts that down to 82 watts and dims the screen slightly. Again, for a 55-inch HDTV, that's a very solid result, if slightly higher than the 55FS4610R's 91 and 77 watts respectively.

The FS3700 series shows that, once again, TCL and Roku can work together to produce a very compelling budget HDTV. Even though its picture won't wow you, at $600 for a 55-inch screen loaded with Roku's wide selection of content channels and media features, the bargain it presents will. If you want a big screen with built-in Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and other features for a low price, it should be at the top of your list. If you need a top-notch picture, be prepared to spend much more; even last year's Sony KDL-60W850B, which is a larger screen and offers incredible contrast, will cost you almost three times as much as the 55FS3700. The 55-inch LG 55EC9300, meanwhile, offers the best 1080p picture you can get thanks to its OLED panel, but even though it's now available for just over a third of its initial price tag, it's still around $2,500.

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About the Author

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert... See Full Bio

TCL 55FS3700

TCL 55FS3700

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